FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Alaska Fairbanks rifle team fell Sunday, Oct. 13 to the defending national champions of TCU at the E.F. Horton Rifle Range in Fairbanks, Alaska. This was the first loss of the season for the Nanooks, dropping their record to 3-1.
 
TCU managed to grab wins in both the smallbore and air rifle categories, but the Alaska team hung with the Horned Frogs. In smallbore, TCU won 2326-2314, however, Kellen McAferty took home the individual win for the 'Nooks with a 585. TCU shooters grabbed the next four spots before Jessica Boyce, who placed sixth, showed up with a score of 579. Senior, Grace Nelson followed right behind Boyce with a 577.
 
Air rifle saw TCU take positions one through five and the aggregate scoring, 2377-2349. Kristen Hemphill ended the day as the number one air rifle shooter with a near-perfect, 598. Haley Castillo was the first Nanook competitor on the air rifle standings, placing sixth with an impressive 591 score. Boyce followed at eighth place with a score of 590. No fellow Nanooks placed in the top 10.
 
Head coach Layne Lewis had this to say about his teams match and his two seniors final home showing, "It was a clost match in smallbore, TCU just got us in air rifle, but overall, this was our fourth match in a row that we have shown improvement, which is great to see and our slings keep getting better. Now that we have a month off before our Thanksgiving road trip, we are going to be focusing on our air rifle to bring it up to the next level. A lot of highs today, Jessica shot a career high in smallbore, Morgan had a career high in air and Grace tied her career high in smallbore, which is awesome to do on senior day!"
 
Overall, TCU won the match 4703-4663 handing the Nanooks their first loss of the season. Alaska will have just over a month off before they head to El Paso, Texas to face UTEP. 
 
For more information on the Alaska Nanooks rifle team, follow @NanooksRifle on Twitter, or like the Alaska Nanooks Rifle team page on Facebook.